PVC Roll: Are Environmental Concerns Justified?

Is PVC Roll As Bad For The Environment As Is Widely Believed?

PVC, also known as polyvinyl chloride, is one of the most popular components in the world and is used to make many items, but many people still have misinformed ideas relating to how safe this material is to use in a variety of different applications, including industrial uses. Being able to understand what the myths are involving PVC and what is actual truth can go a long way to businesses being better able to comprehend whether door curtains made of PVC are the right product for their needs.

Many people have reported a mistrust of PVC products as they believe that they have a serious impact on the environment due to the manufacturing process using natural gas or other hydrocarbons. However, the truth is that whether they use natural gas or oil, PVC items contain a much lower level of hydrocarbons than items made from polyethylene and polypropylene. The composition of polyethylene and polypropylene is around 90 to 100% hydrocarbons whereas for PVC it is around 43%. Just as important as this is the fact that fewer greenhouse gases are produced in the processes that are used to gather the raw material needed to create PVC roll as it is less dependent on oil - and this also makes it much easier to forecast project costs.

It is true that the plasticisers used to make PVC strips do currently require oil or gas, but these are not the only sources of hydrocarbons available. A lot of work is being done on sourcing ethanol for cars from biological sources, and so companies are also trying to find ways to make plant-based plasticisers as well. There are two benefits to this. Firstly, plants are obviously a renewable resource that renew on a much shorter timeframe than oil, and they are less affected by supply concerns. Secondly, the use of plants will dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of any company using PVC strip. This is a key consideration when marketing products that take advantage of the cost-effective nature of PVC while reassuring clients that it will not have an undue effect on the environment.

Many safety concerns about the use of PVC stem from a perceived view that it must be an unsafe material due to the amount of regulations in place regarding the use of components made from PVC in toys for babies and infants. However, they have not been regulated to as large an extent as people believe, and the use of certain phthalates is regulated but only for these applications. PVC is actually used as a liner in water tanks and is approved to be used for piping that brings water into domestic houses and other facilities. It is also acceptable to use PVC for food packaging and a number of medical applications as well. Even medical devices such as CT and MRI imaging systems use PVC, and these applications require compliance to stringent regulations, and this means that PVC is a lot safer than many people realise. 

A lot of people also seem to dislike roll PVC as they believe that a lot of PVC ends up in landfill and doesn't decompose. The facts of the matter are that recycling actually occurs at the manufacturing stage with the use of scrap material and a similar process to this can be used to re-use materials that have already been used to make other PVC products. On top of this, as the PVC polymer is formed at a much lower temperature than other competing options and so this reduces the cost to recycle as it does the cost of manufacturing. Another benefit of this is that if the PVC material is in storage, the employers do not have to worry about any gases being released into the air as a result of the material degrading - as this won't happen.

As you can see, there are actually a wide number of benefits associated with using PVC for a wide number of applications, and it is actually safer to use than many people think. To find out more about PVC roll and how it can fit your industrial requirements then you can call us on 0333 999 7171 or email us at sales@stripcurtainsdirect.co.uk